Cecep Maskanul Hakim^
1. Introduction
The launching of mudarabah bond, issued by PT. Indonesian Satellite
Corporation Tbk in October 2002 is a spectacular step in Islamic finance in
Indonesia. Until the day of issuance, the discussion of Islamic finance goes
on within the boundaries of Islamic banking, since most Islamic finance
products are practiced by Islamic banks, and in more limited portion, by
insurances. Moreover, pros and cons of Islamic bond still persist amongst the
practitioners and experts as to whether Islamic bond concept can be put into
practice.
To add more surprise, arrangement for issuing the bond takes only three
months, a relatively short time compared to its conventional counterpart,
Indosat Bond II. Few are informed that Indosat is the third company which
offered to issue Islamic bond, after two other organizations who were
interested but abandoned their plans in the last minute. It is not known why
they rejected the proposal. However, such a refusal is a typical response
resulting from strong doubt, whether an Islamic instrument can be sold in the
market and generate profit. The scepticism increases when the instrument is
first of its kind, even among Islamic financial institutions.
Amidst the controversy about its Shari[ah compliance, more of
mudarabah based Islamic bonds are being issued. Four similar bonds have
already been launched until midst of 2003, while others are waiting to be
(^) Junior Bank Researcher, Islamic Banking Bureau-Bank Indonesia. The views
expressed in this article are fully the writer’s responsibility, not representing the
institution in which he works.